The Lorax (Classic Seuss)

Amazon.com

When Dr. Seuss gets serious, you know it must be important. Published in 1971, and perhaps inspired by the "save our planet" mindset of the 1960s, The Lorax is an ecological warning that still rings true today amidst the dangers of clear-cutting, pollution, and disregard for the earth's environment. In The Lorax, we find what we've come to expect from the illustrious doctor: brilliantly whimsical rhymes, delightfully original creatures, and weirdly undulating illustrations. But here there is also something more--a powerful message that Seuss implores both adults and children to heed.

The now remorseful Once-ler--our faceless, bodiless narrator--tells the story himself. Long ago this enterprising villain chances upon a place filled with wondrous Truffula Trees, Swomee-Swans, Brown Bar-ba- loots, and Humming-Fishes. Bewitched by the beauty of the Truffula Tree tufts, he greedily chops them down to produce and mass-market Thneeds. ("It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove. It's a hat.") As the trees swiftly disappear and the denizens leave for greener pastures, the fuzzy yellow Lorax (who speaks for the trees "for the trees have no tongues") repeatedly warns the Once-ler, but his words of wisdom are for naught. Finally the Lorax extricates himself from the scorched earth (by the seat of his own furry pants), leaving only a rock engraved "UNLESS." Thus, with his own colorful version of a compelling morality play, Dr. Seuss teaches readers not to fool with Mother Nature. But as you might expect from Seuss, all hope is not lost--the Once-ler has saved a single Truffula Tree seed! Our fate now rests in the hands of a caring child, who becomes our last chance for a clean, green future. (Ages 4 to 8)

Book Description

"UNLESS someone like you...cares a whole awful lot...nothing is going to get better...It's not."

Long before saving the earth became a global concern, Dr. Seuss, speaking through his character the Lorax, warned against mindless progress and the danger it posed to the earth's natural beauty.

"The big, colorful pictures and the fun images, word plays and rhymes make this an amusing exposition of the ecology crisis."—School Library Journal. Illus. in full color.

Customer Reviews:

great book.......2007-10-07

everyone knows how great a book The Lorax is. We got it for our son's fourth birthday. He loves it.

Great book.......2007-10-07

What a great book for a child. In my picky opinion, the beginning is a bit slow, and the ending is a bit abrupt - but still, this is a classic. My child received this book as a gift - now I give it as a gift to other children.

The Lorax.......2007-10-02

An excellent childrens book! A great read for anyone who wants to promote conservation to childern.

This sad tale is wonderfully creative.......2007-09-20

Last week, in my Environmental Studies class, the teacher brought out this book and we had sotry time. Now, that is not normal in a University setting, but it was perfect. We'd read how Easter Island and other such places died out do to the over forestization of their small island. But nothing really gets the point across as well as Dr. Seuss can. We all giggled at first, but as the prose continued we all just listened. I have never seen a childrens book handle such a serious topic so well before. This is a fantastic book to educate youth on being environmentally concious, and I bet they'll remember the message into their adulthood decisions.

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

In amidst all the funny looking groovy trees and fuzzy creatures there is a message. In this case, it is about ecology, use of resources, and the environment.

Or, listen to what the Lorax says when you are chopping stuff down and damaging things to make a quick buck, for he is wise.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern)

Average customer rating:

Great homeschool material
Great Guide that is ALMOST Perfect
helpful
Great Book
Information Packed

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern)
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Turtleback

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ASIN: 0394507606
Release Date: 1980-05-12

Amazon.com

For the untrained observer, it can be quite a challenge to sort out the many trees that make up a stand of older forest in, say, New England or the Ozarks. This well-illustrated guidebook, covering 364 species, comes to the rescue with photographs organized in several ways: by, for example, the shape of the leaf or needle, by the fruit, by the flower or cone, and by autumn coloration. Following one visible characteristic or another, the reader can narrow the range of possibilities, then turn to an informative text that describes a tree's physical characteristics, habitat, and range. Many of the species covered are relatively rare, such as the "stinking cedar" of the Georgia-Florida border; others are locally abundant, such as the paper birch of the boreal forest, used to make ice-cream sticks; still others, such as the smooth sumac, are widespread. The guidebook also covers ornamentals introduced from other continents, such as the Chinese privet and Mahaleb cherry. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

Tree peepers everywhere will enjoy these two guides which explore the incredible environment of our country's forests-including seasonal features, habitat, range, and lore. Nearly 700 species of trees are detailed in photographs of leaf shape, bark, flowers, fruit, and fall leaves -- all can be quickly accessed making this the ideal field guide for any time of year.

Note: the Eastern Edition generally covers states east of the Rocky Mountains, while the Western Edition covers the Rocky Mountain range and all the states to the west of it.

Customer Reviews:

Great homeschool material.......2007-10-17

My age 14 grandson's biology text book had a few pages of information about trees, which were enough to whet his appetite to know more. We gave him the Audubon Field Guide to North American Trees - Eastern - which was perfect for the NE Tennessee - North Carolina area where he lives. This book greatly increased his knowledge of trees and his environment.

Great Guide that is ALMOST Perfect.......2007-08-18

I have always liked the Audubon Society Field Guides. This particular guide is great in the amount of color photos for sometimes easily identifying species in all seasons, whether from the fall leaves, bark, summer leaves, and the fruit it produces. Also the organization of the guide is very good. My cons below are NOT enough to prevent me from recommending this guide. Compared to other guides it's still the best.

CONS: The amount of information in the back is not always consistent. Also there still isn't always an easy way to differentiate some of the similar species (e.g. Oaks). In other words the pictures and/or the descriptions are not enough to distinguish like species.

helpful.......2007-07-03

Very much help for figuring out what trees we have and we have a lot. Pictures are very nice and cross reference if you aren't totally sure of what you are looking at. Very handy size too

Great Book.......2007-06-27

Every tree and every leaf that you can think of is in this book. Great clear pictures and the information is great. So glad I purchased this book for my husband. The equivalant to bird watching. Tree watching.

Information Packed.......2007-05-17

My new hobby is woodturning bowls so I bought this book to help me identify trees that supply my wood. Once I learned how to search the material, this book has been great fun and very useful. I take it with me when I walk my dog around the neighborhood to identify trees.

The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring

Average customer rating:

Cavorting in the canopy
Outstanding!
Oldest living things on earth.?
trees & more
A nice adventure

The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring
Richard Preston
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1400064899
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Book Description

Hidden away in foggy, uncharted rain forest valleys in Northern California are the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained–the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. Ninety-six percent of the ancient redwood forests have been destroyed by logging, but the untouched fragments that remain are among the great wonders of nature. The biggest redwoods have trunks up to thirty feet wide and can rise more than thirty-five stories above the ground, forming cathedral-like structures in the air. Until recently, redwoods were thought to be virtually impossible to ascend, and the canopy at the tops of these majestic trees was undiscovered. In The Wild Trees, Richard Preston unfolds the spellbinding story of Steve Sillett, Marie Antoine, and the tiny group of daring botanists and amateur naturalists that found a lost world above California, a world that is dangerous, hauntingly beautiful, and unexplored.

The canopy voyagers are young–just college students when they start their quest–and they share a passion for these trees, persevering in spite of sometimes crushing personal obstacles and failings. They take big risks, they ignore common wisdom (such as the notion that there’s nothing left to discover in North America), and they even make love in hammocks stretched between branches three hundred feet in the air.

The deep redwood canopy is a vertical Eden filled with mosses, lichens, spotted salamanders, hanging gardens of ferns, and thickets of huckleberry bushes, all growing out of massive trunk systems that have fused and formed flying buttresses, sometimes carved into blackened chambers, hollowed out by fire, called “fire caves.” Thick layers of soil sitting on limbs harbor animal and plant life that is unknown to science. Humans move through the deep canopy suspended on ropes, far out of sight of the ground, knowing that the price of a small mistake can be a plunge to one’s death.

Preston’s account of this amazing world, by turns terrifying, moving, and fascinating, is an adventure story told in novelistic detail by a master of nonfiction narrative. The author shares his protagonists’ passion for tall trees, and he mastered the techniques of tall-tree climbing to tell the story in The Wild Trees–the story of the fate of the world’s most splendid forests and of the imperiled biosphere itself.

Customer Reviews:

Cavorting in the canopy.......2007-10-12

They're almost impossible to see properly. If you're near the base in a neck-cricking stance, the tops are lost in a maze of foliage. At at distance, its cousins and offspring surround the one you want to consider. One redwood in a grove becomes lost to view, while an individual obscures itself. They're impossible to climb, the first branches may not start for nearly twenty stories in the air - not your backyard beech or maple tree. The bark is difficult to grasp, and is held in place tenuously. It's little wonder that studying the canopy of the Coast Redwood defied not only attempts, but stifled interest until very recently. In this excellent account, Preston writes of the first Redwood explorers. They are worthy of his skill as a writer, and his subjects fit to stand with Columbus or Cook. Better, Aldo Leopold.

The pivotal character is one Steve Sillett, who followed an impulse to see what those canopies might reveal. He eschewed technology - no helicopter lift nor real climbing equipment in the beginning, Sillett "free-climbed" a "Sequoia sempervirens" just to see if he could do it. The event prompted a life-long love affair with these aged giants of the California mountains. His unending drive to learn more about how the trees grow and propagate, what other plants or creatures might occupy it and perhaps to discover mammoth trees surviving loggers' depredations, might lead some to brand him a "kook". Some already have. But Sillett's aboreal ventures are serious, particularly now as the climate on which these giants survive is seriously threatened.

Nobody, even somebody so dedicated as Sillett, climbs a redwood alone. Preston very deftly brings into our view those working with Sillett and with others. Michael Taylor, whose multi-faceted career deserves a book of its own, is introduced and followed through the twists and turns of his fascinating life. Marie Antoine, who was raised on an island in northwestern Ontario, ultimately becomes Sillett's wife. Their courtship at the top of a giant redwood is almost embarrassing reading, but their shared passions are more than merely physical. When her hips are strapped into a climbing harness, how does a woman relieve herself? At the top of a redwood you are clearly aware of the "redline" - the distance above which a fall is inevitably fatal. One of their group dropped fifty metres - yet fortuitously survived to climb again. Even so, Sillett and Antoine celebrated their marriage ceremony in the canopy - and the officiating minister was elevated with them. And he didn't have to shout.

The other quest, to find the tallest Redwood, is almost a separate story. Loggers have demolished much of the Redwood forest, but there are hidden enclaves where monster trees remain untouched - and unseen. Measuring their height is a two-step process, Preston explains. An estimate, immensely difficult to obtain and often done with crude equipment from hundreds of metres distance, must be verified. The only reliable verification is to - yes, climb the tree and drop a measuring tape. The quest seems endless, if only because access to the trees means exhausting forays through mazes of fallen giants. Their collapse is partly due to the strange root system. Unlike most trees, the Redwood has no taproot for resistance against winds. Since many factors, age among them, leads to giant trees with hollow cores, wind-toppled Redwoods are not uncommon. Over the lengthy life of a Redwood grove, many are felled. A particularly tragic case of this occurs when one of the measured giants, "Telperion", is toppled the year after its discovery. Preston provides general locations of some of the highest specimens, each given a name to certify its standing among the others. Such appellations as "Atlas", "Pig Snout", "Terex Titan" and "Hyperion" [the tallest yet measured] are now applied to trees - whose location remains a closely-guarded secret.

From California, Preston accompanies Sillett to Australia where "Eucalyptus regnans" competes with the Coast Redwood for aerial acclaim. Scaling them is no easier, as there are droves of land leeches to intercept the climbers even before they start aloft. They persevere to find a fresh wonderland in the Southern canopy. Preston, by this time, had undertaken climbing training and was fully prepared to meeting the challenges of climbing arboreal monsters. He is as infected by the tree-climbing virus as his subjects, relating his own and their feats with enthusiasm born of familiarity. Well illustrated with graphics by Andrew Joslin, this book is a landmark effort in describing a new breed of explorers and the wonders they revealed to us. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Outstanding!.......2007-09-18

I am an avid reader of adventure books, and this ranks very high on my list. I was so engrossed in the story, it simply pained me to put this book it down. Preston beautifully weaves together many themes in this book - the adventure of climbing trees, the almost spiritual beauty of ancient Redwoods, the sciences of botany and ecology, a bit of romance, and most of all, people following their passions in spite of obstacles and fulfilling their dreams.

My interest in the book was originally inspired by a trip to Redwood National Park, and the book has now inspired me to pursue recreational tree climbing as a hobby. Don't be surprised if you are similarly inspired.

A great read - highly recommended.

Oldest living things on earth.?.......2007-09-10

If you have ever wanted to see or have seen the California redwoods, you will enjoy this book. Richard Preston got so interested in the trees that he learned to climb them--a feat equal to mountain climbing and just as dangerous, so he could experience them first hand. These ancient plants, thought to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old, are a world apart from any other plants living today. Because they are so unusual, individual trees have been named, climbed, measured, and thoroughly explored from the ground to the tip. The exact location of the tallest specimens is a well kept secret by the botanists who have studied them. Richard Preston's book, which reads like an adventure novel, is a very good read about a most unusual subject.

trees & more.......2007-09-08

A book truly about finding one's passion and calling. Who said that there was nothing left to explore for our generation? Highly recommended.

A nice adventure.......2007-09-01

Read the other opinions and learn the specifics if you must, but for me a book about unexplored woods and the adventure of climbing them were enough. The book is a nice read - AND - you will be rewarded on the last two pages of the story. With three words - go online, search, and you will "see". Thank you Mr. Preston for the history and the new images I have of one of the best parts of life on this world - the woods.

Average customer rating:

Best Rainforest Photographs Anywhere!
Bugs & Stuff
Now you can have the world's rain forests and their sounds at your fingertips!!!
Save them!
Amazing!

Rainforest
Ben Morgan
Manufacturer: DK ADULT
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0756619408

Amazon.com

Over the past 16 years Swiss photographer Thomas Marent has traveled all over the world photographing rainforests, from Peru and Ecuador to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Usually traveling alone, Marent has been known to spend extraordinary lengths of time to get the perfect shot--sometimes 12 days. You can see the results in his first book, Rainforest. The book is his testament--an intimate collection of more than 500 breathtaking animal and plant portraits, and the fascinating stories behind them.

Questions for Thomas Marent

Amazon.com: What inspired you to start taking pictures?

Marent: I used to be a birdwatcher in Switzerland--and soon I was also interested in amphibians, insects, and plants. After a while I thought it would be nice to have pictures of all these beautiful animals.

Amazon.com: Waiting for the perfect shot takes patience and time. How do you decide what images are worth waiting for?

Marent: I mostly focus on the colorful and spectacularly shaped creatures. Sometimes it is a matter of luck to find them, but sometimes I have to know where and when to look for them.

Amazon.com: What photo in Rainforest is your favorite?

Marent: I don't have one favorite--there are many favorites! I especially like the photos of frogs, butterflies, fungi, birds and weird insects.

Amazon.com: What would people find most surprising about the world's rainforests?

Marent: When people think of the rainforest, it's the monkeys, birds, and wild cats that first come to mind. But there are so many small and beautiful creatures. We need to see and appreciate them too--they're just a little harder to find! Many of these smaller creatures have never been seen by most people.

Amazon.com: Do you consider yourself a rainforest activist?

Marent: With the book I want to show to the people the endless beauty of the rainforests. I do hope that it might open the eyes of some people, so that they'll agree that it's worth protecting this fantastic environment.

Amazon.com: Some of the photos in the book, especially some of the insect photos, are really strange and otherworldly. What's your favorite exotic rainforest animal?

Marent: Some of my favorites always were frogs and butterflies, but birds and monkeys as well. And of course the weird-looking insects.

Amazon.com: What's your favorite rainforest?

Marent: In Asia it is Borneo. In Africa it is Madagascar. In Latin America it is Costa Rica and Peru/Colombia. But I also like the Australian and New Zealand rainforests.

Amazon.com: Do you have any advice for amateur nature photographers?

Marent: A tripod is an absolutely must. Try to move to the animals slowly and quietly--it takes some patience. Whenever possible try taking your pictures at the animal's eye level. And it's always important to think about the background when you compose the picture.

Book Description

Thomas Marent, a self-taught photographer who has dedicated half his life to capturing images of rainforest life, tells the story of his journey through these spectacular photographs. Join him as he travels across five continents for an up-close view of the astonishing variety and fascinating behavior of rainforest plants and trees, reptiles, birds, amphibians, insects, and mammals.

Customer Reviews:

Best Rainforest Photographs Anywhere!.......2007-09-15

Without doubt, the best set of rainforest photographs I have ever seen. I live in the tropics (North Queensland, Australia) and am very interested in quality depiction of the subject of rainforest flora and fauna. This book sets a new standard of excellence, especially regarding insect life. This is an important part of the world's record of rainforests, and probably could never be duplicated due to global warming.

Bugs & Stuff.......2007-09-10

If you like big, gorgeous pictures of colorful bugs and frogs, then this is the book for you. You also get some pictures of monkeys and a few flowers and mushrooms too.

Now you can have the world's rain forests and their sounds at your fingertips!!!.......2007-09-04

XXXXX

This breathtaking book takes the reader on an awe-inspiring five continent tour of rain forest tree and plants, reptiles, birds, amphibians, insect, and mammals.

The book itself can be divided into three components:

(1) Photographs (with informative captions)
(2) Text
(3) CD

The photographs are spectacular and jaw dropping! For over sixteen years, nature photographer Thomas Marent has traveled around the world to achieve the difficult task of recording the diverse, complex, unexplored, and endangered ecosystems of rain forests. In other words, these spectacular color photos capture close-up images of some of the most rarely visited places on Earth.

The photographs are divided into five sections: (1) panorama (2) diversity (3) survival (has three sub-divisions entitled predator, arms and armor, deception) (4) cycles (has three sub-divisions entitled flowers to fruit, lifelines, recyclers) and (5) society.

The number of captioned photos for each section is as follows (these totals are rounded off):

Panorama: 40; Diversity: 20; Survival 170; Cycles: 105; Society: 45. There are also about 10 captioned photos that appear before the table of contents. (TOTAL captioned photos in entire book: 400.)

There is a well-written text that accompanies many photographs giving the reader facts and figures about the rain forests and their diverse plant, insect, and insect inhabitants. (The last chapter of this book entitled "Rainforests of the world" is especially well done.) As well, there are fascinating brief stories and descriptions (in quotation marks) that were said by photographer Marent that accompany some of the photos.

You might be tempted to just look at the photographs with their captions and skip the text. However, you would be cheating yourself. I feel that the comprehensive text should be read to fill in the gaps about rain forests that the photographs do not and cannot provide.

The third component of this mesmerizing book is the 80 minute, 23 track audio CD entitled "Sounds of the Rainforest" inserted into an envelope attached to the inside back cover. Recorded on it are sounds that are unique to the rain forests around the world. On the insertion envelope itself, we're told what the main sound is on eleven of these tracks. More than a quarter of this CD is devoted to the sounds of the Amazon Rain Forest (the world's largest rain forest). (Note that many of the titles on the CD itself (but not on its insertion envelope) are in a foreign language. My favorite tracks are 14 to 16, 20 to 23.)

This CD definitely does "enhance the unique experience of this book."

I should tell the potential buyer of this book that "2% of the royalties from this book are paid to The Rainforest Foundation," a foundation devoted to the long-term protection of rain forests. The singer Sting is a founding patron of this foundation.

Finally, I had some problems with this book. Note that these in no way affect the book's readability but are more "irritations:"

(1) Who wrote the text for this book? From the book's front cover (displayed above by Amazon) it's Thomas Marent. Right? Wrong!! He's responsible for the photographs (and some of his verbal statements are included with the text). On the title page (located on page 2) of this book we have "Thomas Marent with Ben Morgan." If you go to the copyright page there is in small print "Text copyright 2006 Dorling Kindersley [abbreviated DK] Limited." We're also told all images are copyright to Marent.

Thus Ben Morgan, a writer for DK (I think??), is the author of this book. Why is his name not also displayed on the book's cover?

(2) Where did Morgan get all the facts and figures for his text? There is no reference section that tells us.

(3) I almost missed the fact that there's a CD with this book! I just happened to read the back cover and there is a little blurb that tells the reader that there's a CD (but not where it's located). We're only told what the main sounds are on 11 of its 23 tracks. Why? And why are we not told that there's a CD at the front of the book?

In conclusion, this is a unique and stunningly beautiful book about rain forests around the world. I leave you with a list of facts found in a "fact box" entitled "Wealth of the Rainforests" that itself is found in the last chapter of this remarkable book:

(i) One-fifth of the world's fresh water is in the Amazon River basin.

(ii) Almost all the medicine we use every day come from plants endemic to the rainforest.

(iii) A single pond in Brazil [that holds over half of the Amazon Rain Forest and holds about one-third of the world's remaining tropical rain forests] can sustain a greater variety of fish than is found in all of Europe's rivers.

(iv) If present rates of destruction [of rain forests] continue, there will be no rainforests remaining by 2060.

(copyright 2006; forward; a photographer's passion; 6 chapters; main narrative 360 pages; photographing the rainforest; index; acknowledgements; "sounds of the rainforest" CD)

< >

XXXXX

Save them!.......2007-08-27

Save the rainforests, in the meantime you will love this book it has the most amazing, beautiful photos in it I highly recommend it! Not just a coffee table book either, this really opens up the true, hidden beauty of the rainforests!

Amazing!.......2007-08-01

The photos are just astonishing. I highly recommend this book. It captures nature's beauty and color and showcases an array of rare animals that you will probably never see yourself.

Average customer rating:

Stunning story of hope and action
Extraordinary Women's memoir
Perseverance and hope
Didn't grab me
Impressive, Incredible, & Motivational. It will have you believing in the Impossible!

Unbowed
Wangari Maathai
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0307263487
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Book Description

Hugely charismatic, humble, and possessed of preternatural luminosity of spirit, Wangari Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and a single mother of three, recounts her extraordinary life as a political activist, feminist, and environmentalist in Kenya.

Born in a rural village in 1940, Wangari Maathai was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an education even though most girls were uneducated. We see her studying with Catholic missionaries, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the United States, and becoming the first woman both to earn a PhD in East and Central Africa and to head a university department in Kenya. We witness her numerous run-ins with the brutal Moi government. She makes clear the political and personal reasons that compelled her, in 1977, to establish the Green Belt Movement, which spread from Kenya across Africa and which helps restore indigenous forests while assisting rural women by paying them to plant trees in their villages. We see how Maathai’s extraordinary courage and determination helped transform Kenya’s government into the democracy in which she now serves as assistant minister for the environment and as a member of Parliament. And we are with her as she accepts the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in recognition of her “contribution to sustainable development, human rights, and peace.”

In Unbowed, Wangari Maathai offers an inspiriting message of hope and prosperity through self-sufficiency.

Customer Reviews:

Stunning story of hope and action.......2007-10-16

Maathai is the first African woman and the first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize-in 2004.

Masthai's life is inspiring-from her humble beginnings as a child laborer on the plantation of a white English colonial farm with her family, to her early education in the primitive Ihithe primary school at age 8, to further education at St. Cecilia's at the Mathari Catholic Mission, to college in the United States. She taught at the University in Kenya, and was active in the National Council of Women in Kenya (NCWK) for many years.

Many failures are scattered throughout her life: she was divorced by her husband; she lost her job at the University when she tried to run for office, and she was arrested many times for her work in promoting democracy in Kenya. One of the projects she worked on was to stop the construction of a huge 60-story skyscraper in the middle of Uhuru Park in Nairobi; another was to obtain the release of over 50 men who had been imprisoned for agitating for a multi-party system. She held a hunger strike with their mothers, in Uhuru Park, and then they all retreated to a nearby Anglican cathedral to continue to protest after being routed from the park by armed police (Along with many others, Maathai was beaten and taken to hospital). Eventually the men were released.

Maathai started the Green Belt Movement in 1977. In 2002 Kenya finally held free and democratic open elections and Maathai won a seat in the Parliament. See the Green Belt web site for extensive details of her grassroots tree-planting program. The act of planting a tree is helping women throughout Africa help the environment. The GBM has planted more than 40 million trees across Africa, resulting in reduced soil erosion has affecting the critical watersheds

Everyone can make a difference. Just today I watched a report on the news about the devastating drought in the Southeast United States. Hard times are coming. We need to learn about climate change and what we can do to manage it.

Armchair Interviews says: One woman helping other women and her country.

Extraordinary Women's memoir.......2007-06-27

This memoir is an inspiring example of what one woman can do, bit by bit, and eventually have an internationally positive influence. The author's story resonates with anyone who wants to make a difference in her/his own molecule of the world.

Perseverance and hope.......2007-04-05

When Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, questions were raised regarding her choice by the Nobel Committee. Why should an environmentalist receive a prize that was identified with peace and human rights, voiced the critics. Reading Maathai's memoir sets the record straight, and justifying her selection for the award. In this fascinating and very personal account, she paints a vivid picture of her life, embedded in the realities of Kenya before and since independence. Her experiences during the Moi regime, in particular, demonstrate the challenges a young educated woman confronted in the face of traditional prejudice as well as political oppression.

Raised in rural Kenya, Wangari Maathai never lost the deep connection with the land and its the natural beauty. Over the years, she noticed the changes and the increasing fragility of the environment. Trees for her became a symbol and a tool for protecting the vulnerable ecosystem and assisting rural population to stem the growing poverty.

Thanks to the intervention of her older brother and the support of her mother, she was able to attend school beyond the primary level, which was all girls at the time could reach for. As luck had it and, being a bright student, her convent school was one of those selected to send graduates to the US under what became known as the Kennedy Airlift: a program to send young Africans to American colleges for further education. These young people were being primed to become future leaders of their societies in the soon to be independent African states. Maathai returned to Kenya with a Master's degree in biology, a subject that for her combined her scientific interests with her deep love for her natural environment. She was encouraged in her research and added a PhD in veterinary medicine to her record. Life should have been easy after that with a good husband, a blossoming academic career and three wonderful kids. But women in Kenya were not supposed to be independent and strong. Her fight for women's equal rights broadened her environmental commitments. Eventually she lost her academic position, her husband divorced her and she ended up as poor as she was a child. Not deterred by the adversities she was facing, she continued fighting on several fronts. She started the Greenbelt Movement to plant trees to reclaim the land as a campaign for and with rural women. Over time it gained such prominence that it was perceived as a threat by the authorities. Public show of opposition, such as the demonstrations to save Uhuru Park in Nairobi from President-friendly developers, increasingly identified Maathai and the Greenbelt Movement as a focus for opposition forces. They fought for human rights and dignity, anti-tribalism and democracy. The details of these struggles, the friendships and solidarity that Maathai experienced, both in Kenya in internationally, supported her morally and probably saved her life more than once.

Maathai's memoir is very personal and written from the heart. We get to know her thinking and feelings as well as a detailed description of the difficult life women and men who opposed the Moi regime faced. Her easygoing and conversational style softens the impact of her description of the arduous and sometimes even brutal experiences that she relays. At the same time, her story is a stirring example of how one person's strength and perseverance can make a difference to a people and the world. The Greenbelt Movement is now a motor for tree planting around Africa and beyond. This is an inspirational book as well as a historical record. Reading it will make you feel enriched. [Friederike Knabe]

Didn't grab me.......2007-03-09

I heard the author speak on NPR awhile ago, and thought this would be a fascinating book. However, I just couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. I think the lady has an interesting story to tell, but I just couldn't connect with what she had to say.

Impressive, Incredible, & Motivational. It will have you believing in the Impossible!.......2007-01-27

I enjoyed this book! "Unbowed" is a straight-forward, gripping, and majestic effort by Wangari Maathai --- a formidable woman who faced unimaginable hurdles in a noble effort to help others ... and shape the destiny of her country.

During her fantastic journey, she became a mother of three, an inspiration for millions, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Her life is an eloquent triumph of good versus evil. Those who have asked: "What can one person do?" Need only to read about her "Green Belt Movement". I'll give you a hint: It is about trees, self reliance, and human endurance.

Prepare yourself for spell-binding details (page 277) on crime, corruption, and monumental waste of natural resources by so-called leaders --- who feed off the carcasses of their people.

"Unbowed" is a book that will have you believing in the unattainable. Exquisitely written ... it is a compelling story of incredible courage, tenacious will, and survival in modern day Africa.

I loved it. You will, too!

The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest

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Get Kids Interested in the Rain Forest
Great Book about Animals In the Rainforest
The true story of the rianforest
Treasures of Nature
great for teaching a unit on the rainforest

The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest
Lynne Cherry
Manufacturer: Voyager Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0152026142

Amazon.com

If a tree falls in the forest... someone or something will always be there to hear it. Many, many creatures will feel the effects when their source of sustenance and shelter falls to the earth. So when a man is sent into the Amazon rain forest one day, under instructions to chop down a great kapok tree, many eyes watch him nervously. It's not long before he grows tired, though, and the "heat and hum" of the rain forest lulls him to sleep. One by one, snakes, bees, monkeys, birds, frogs, and even a jaguar emerge from the jungle canopy to plead with the sleeping ax-man to spare their home. When the man awakens, startled at all the rare and marvelous animals surrounding him, he picks up his ax as if to begin chopping again, then drops it and walks away, presumably never to return.

Unfortunately, there's always someone else who is willing to take his place, but the message of this environmental book is plain: Save the rain forest! The story itself is not overly compelling, but each personalized entreaty from the animals provides an accurate and persuasive scientific argument for preserving nature's gifts. Lynne Cherry's fertile watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations, including a map of the tropical rain forests of the world, are vivid and colorful. A fine starting point for a discussion about conservation. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Book Description

This inspired look at what the Kapok tree means to the creatures that live in it--and what rain forests mean to the world's ecology--was at the forefront of the ecological movement ten years ago and continues to resonate profoundly with children everywhere.

Customer Reviews:

Get Kids Interested in the Rain Forest.......2007-07-29

I used this book as an introduction to the Rain Forest for my 3rd graders and it got them interested in learning more. It is a great book as a lesson plan or in a classroom library. Kids seemed to read and reread this book more than any other.

Great Book about Animals In the Rainforest.......2006-11-10

Both my 4 year old boy and my 7 year old girl like this book and so do I. It's a great way to introduce them to many of the different types of animals you could find in a rainforest. Great pictures!

The true story of the rianforest.......2006-04-12

This book is truly inspiring for anyone that does not believe in saving the rainforests. The Great Kapok Tree really tells you from all the animals point of view on how the rianforest is their home. This timeless children's book is not just for little children it is for all to learn a lesson from what could become of the future or what people are destroying. In this book there is one man who is told to chop down this very big and old Kapok tree. He starts to wack and chop. After a little bit the man is worn out so he desides to just sit and rest for a little bit, but the sounds of the rainforest lulls him to sleep. One by one animals that depend on trees or have homes there come down and talk to the man whispering and telling of how the rainforest will soon destroy all life on earth because of the oxygen that the trees give us. When the man wakes up he now has a choice, he cqn listen to what the animals said or what the other bigger man told him to do... To find out read The Great Kapok Tree by: Lynne Cherry.

Treasures of Nature.......2006-02-27

For centuries, man has abused nature and thoughtlessly destroyed forests without realizing the harm this causes. Only recently has the importance of trees become apparent, brought to light by those who value the life that trees provide. Lynne Cherry is one of these people; her gorgeously illustrated book teaches the importance of trees and the abundance that they give to nature and its creatures.

In this book, a man is hired to chop down a Kapok tree, one of the largest and most important in the entire forest. After just a few chops, the heat of the forest and the exertion of his efforts tire him out and he lies down to sleep. One by one, the different creatures of the forest creep over to him and whisper in his ear the importance of the tree, asking him to spare it and leave it to those who need it. By the time he wakes, his decision and his view of the forest are altered forever. This book is beautifully put together, both with illustrations and a story that's simply but powerfully written.

I've loved trees all my life and this lovely story teaches children the importance of taking care of nature and animals. I really can't believe one person's snooty comment that nature preservation is "not the job of children". First of all, children will not be children forever; they are the future and it is our responsibility to teach them how to take care of the environment if we want them to be responsible adults. Second of all, children CAN make a difference! If you go to Lynne Cherry's website, you'll see that a kid's organization convinced Mcdonald's to recycle their paper products.

I also disagree with the silly statement that the book puts animals above people. What it does is remind us that if we don't take care of nature, there will be no tomorrow for future generations. Besides, one of the "creatures" of the forest who whispered to the man while he was sleeping was a Native American who needed the tree, so the message of the book would be to put others ahead of yourself. I personally think it's refreshing to write a book that gives animals a voice since they're so often overlooked. This book is highly recommended!

great for teaching a unit on the rainforest.......2006-01-17

I got this book for my son, but I also work in a kindergarten and this is a good tool for teaching young children about the rainforest.

The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter

Average customer rating:

Difficult to Read
Fascinating read
Disappointed
Everything you wanted to know about Trees
Arboreal trilogy

The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter
Colin Tudge
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1400050367
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Book Description

There are redwoods in California that were ancient by the time Columbus first landed, and pines still alive that germinated around the time humans invented writing. There are Douglas firs as tall as skyscrapers, and a banyan tree in Calcutta as big as a football field.

From the tallest to the smallest, trees inspire wonder in all of us, and in The Tree, Colin Tudge travels around the world—throughout the United States, the Costa Rican rain forest, Panama and Brazil, India, New Zealand, China, and most of Europe—bringing to life stories and facts about the trees around us: how they grow old, how they eat and reproduce, how they talk to one another (and they do), and why they came to exist in the first place. He considers the pitfalls of being tall; the things that trees produce, from nuts and rubber to wood; and even the complicated debt that we as humans owe them.

Tudge takes us to the Amazon in flood, when the water is deep enough to submerge the forest entirely and fish feed on fruit while river dolphins race through the canopy. He explains the “memory” of a tree: how those that have been shaken by wind grow thicker and sturdier, while those attacked by pests grow smaller leaves the following year; and reveals how it is that the same trees found in the United States are also native to China (but not Europe).

From tiny saplings to centuries-old redwoods and desert palms, from the backyards of the American heartland to the rain forests of the Amazon and the bamboo forests, Colin Tudge takes the reader on a journey through history and illuminates our ever-present but often ignored companions. A blend of history, science, philosophy, and environmentalism, The Tree is an engaging and elegant look at the life of the tree and what modern research tells us about their future.

Customer Reviews:

Difficult to Read.......2007-08-09

As a layperson, interested in learning about the biology of the life forms around me, I bought this book with high hopes only to find it essentialy useless and unreadable.I didn't expect a tree ID guide, but this book doesn't tell the story of trees well. It's not a smooth narrative. It's 400 pages full of technical sounding Latin names and totally lacking pictures.In short, it's just not a good basic intro to trees or a good read.

Fascinating read.......2007-05-31

I've been sort of collecting books on trees the last few months. Though still an amateur on the subject, this book is a winner from where I sit. An I-can't-put-it-down book that makes me happy I'm only half way through right now.

If you are interested in understanding the flora around you and you aren't already degreed in botany but kinda would like to be, this book is for you!

Disappointed.......2007-05-13

Mr. Tudge is obviously very well educated on trees, but he gets a bit dry and lost in the details from time to time.

Everything you wanted to know about Trees .......2006-10-15

One of the most beloved and memorable of all popular poems is Joyce Kilmer's 'Trees' " I think that I shall never see/ a poem as lovely as a tree'/ A tree whose hungry mouth is prest/ against the earth's sweet flowing breast/.
The sheer wonder, delight, and inspiration 'Trees' give to our poetic nature is only one side of what they are.
In this learned and detailed study of Trees,Colin Tudge tells us more about them than we might ever have wanted to know. He describes the different species, provides a survival guide to the way Trees manage in often challenging environments, considers the special qualities of different kinds of trees, helps us understand how Trees are a benefit not only to the 'natural world' but to human civilization and society.
He does this as he also points out the new dangers facing various species from global- warming. And he has specific recommendations on how we can better create an environment more beneficial to the natural world as a whole.
The book is disappointingly poor in one element most of its readers will certainly want to have, good illustrations of Trees. But it nonetheless is an overall encyclopediac treasure for those for whom one of the natural world's great stars are an ongoing source of interest and attraction.

Arboreal trilogy.......2006-05-11

"I never met a Tudge I didn't like" is a fitting adage for this wide-ranging author. Having written an "unauthorised biography" of life, the impact of agriculture on human development and other works, Tudge has created a masterpiece of science writing. No longer can we claim that we can't "see the woods for the trees" since he has detailed the mechanics of both in exquisite detail. At) least so far as we know now. If nothing else is clear from this book, what we don't know about the mechanisms of trees far exceeds what we've learned. Trees, so ubiquitous in their presence and so meaningful in our lives, remain a great mystery to be solved. In three almost independent segments, he spells out what is known and what needs to be revealed.

He opens with one of the most understated definitions in science writing: "a tree is a big plant with a stick up the middle". From this simplistic opening, he then develops an image of how complex that "stick" and "plant" combination is in the final product. This complexity didn't appear from nowhere - the author explains how evolution built it from simple beginnings. Most readers will be familiar with the fact that 46 chromosome are needed to make a human. Trees, through various mechanisms, may develop hundreds of chromosomes depending on conditions. The structure of a single tree almost pales against the variety of trees growing around our planet. Tall trees, spreading ones, trees that we often call "shrubs" - which are merely superbly adapted to their local environment - all reflect the immense diversity trees have developed over the ages. Although generally divided into but two forms, conifers and "flowering" trees, they comprise thousands of species, many probably still unknown.

Tudge dedicates the second part of his book to descriptions of those variations. It is a catalogue of wonders as he depicts the oaks, beeches and other "common" types along with palms, celery pines and fruit trees. He begins with the ancient conifers, trees with a lineage stretching back nearly three hundred million years. That heritage shows in the varieties the conifers incorporate. From stately pines to humble ground-huggers, the conifers even include a parasitic member among their ranks. Angiosperms, the "flowering" trees, have surpassed the conifers in species number. The author lists each Order, with a list of the families and species. He explains why the numbers of species are in flux as new information about relationships comes to light. Tree habitats are also described with indications of where to find typical specimens.

In last third of the book: "How Trees Live", Tudge demonstrates why he's one of today's leading science writers. He has accumlated a vast repetoire of information, and presents it with almost passionate style. Seemingly static from our viewpoint, trees have much to do in the course of their lives. They must keep the sun in view, and many forests are competitive arenas to lift leaves into the light. There are seasons to keep track of, predators to discourage and to entice and employ helpers in the process of reproduction. Lacking brains, or other "intelligent" means, trees cannot manufacture devices for these needs. All must be accomplished with chemistry. Much of "the secret life of trees" is hidden here. With but five hormones and a handful of pigments to achieve their tasks, they have built up forms and methods to accomplish it all with an astounding degree of success.

Tudge's adulation of trees goes beyond being simply informative. In his conclusion, he both endorses our need to increase our knowledge of trees and warns of the effects of our failure to do so. We may view trees as aesthetically pleasing or as a source of lumber or paper. Either way, we must deal with them properly. Hewing down vast forests does far more than leave a barren landscape. Trees are the source of the oxygen we breathe. They take up the carbon dioxide our society produces in such imposing quantities. Their capacity for that role has likely been exceeded at this point. Trees matter, he argues, and we need to know why and how. This book is an excellent starting point to find the answers to that learning quest. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Average customer rating:

Reference bibliography
an excellent text
Gold standard for general phytopathology.
Best textbook on Plant Pathology
A Classic Textbook

Plant Pathology
George N. Agrios
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0120445654

Book Description

This fifth edition of the classic textbook in plant pathology outlines how to recognize, treat, and prevent plant diseases. It provides extensice coverage of abiotic, fungal, viral, bacterial,nematode and other plant diseases and their associated epidemiology. It also covers the genetics of resistance and modern management on plant disease.

Plant Pathology, 5th Edition, is the most comprehensive resource and textbook that professionals, faculty and students can consult for well-organized, essential information. This thoroughly revised edition is 45% larger, covering new discoveries and developments in plant pathology and enhanced by hundreds of new color photographs and illustrations.

* The latest information on molecular techniques and biological control in plant diseases
* Comprehensive in coverage
* Numerous excellent diagrams and photographs
* A large variety of disease examples for instructors to choose for their course

Customer Reviews:

Reference bibliography.......2007-06-12

This is an essential bibliography as a reference to introducing students for the Plant Pathology science.

an excellent text.......2006-10-07

This is an excellent introduction to plant pathology and the kind of book one tends to hold onto to use as a reference after finishing their coursework. I have known plenty of graduate students who've held onto their copies, and I've really never heard any serious criticisms of this book. The coverage is broad, and it will serve as a useful, interesting and highly readable reference for those with interests in bacteriology, virology, mycology, botany and a variety of other fields that overlap with aspects of plant pathology. Typically when I rate textbooks I am fairly harsh because the cost is generally high while contents often leave much to be desired. In my opinion this book is an exception, and I think the cost reasonably reflects the value of the information contained.

Gold standard for general phytopathology. .......2006-08-04

I have been out of Phytopathology since the fall of 1971. Over the years I have; from time to time; skimmed journals like Mycologia and Phytopathology. So the old urge came back and I bought this text on the recommendation of a friend.

This is an excellent text book on general plant pathology. The scope is extensive and I was delighted that a goodly portion of the book explores host pathogen interactions with a microbiological slant. My late, learned, and very noble professor, Dr. R. K. Hegde would have been thrilled to no end considering that the book generally follows his outlines of PL-PATH 600. Dr. Hegde Sir, whereever you are, remember that seminar in May 1968 on the basidiomycetous Fungi with Dr. C.S.Holton in the audience and your passioned pleas for more biochem data? Well those questions are explored to some extent in this book.

If you have any interest in biology, microbiology, biochemistry, or plant science get this book. Most definitely a classic.

Best textbook on Plant Pathology.......2005-10-09

This is by far the best reference on the subject of Plant Pathology. It will be useful not only to plant pathologists, but to other plant scientists and biologists as well. George has done an excellent job in bringing his now famous textbook up to date. I have many books on Plant Pathology; this is by far the best. The fifth edition includes many new pictures and drawings to illustrate the concepts relating to diseases of plants. Plus many new sections dealing with the state-of-art of this science. George says this will probably be the last edition he will write. What a way to cap such an illustrious career!

A Classic Textbook.......2005-10-03

Agrios has upgraded and improved his classic Plant Pathology textbook. I own the 4th edition, and I was uncertain at first if I should buy the 5th edition. It was defintely worth it. Not only is there considerable new information, there are also many more helpful pictures and diagrams. Plus, many of the old graphics that appeared in black and white in the 4th edition are in color in the 5th edition. I highly recommend it.

How a Seed Grows (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)

Average customer rating:

Great Science Project for Little Learners
Seeds for little kids
My five year old enjoyed this book
Life Springing Forth.
A Kids First Science Book

How a Seed Grows (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)
Helene J. Jordan
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Botany | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0064451070
Release Date: 2000-01-26

Book Description

Seeds

How does a tiny acorn grow into an enormous oak tree? At one time, the tree in your backyard could fit into your pocket! Look inside to learn the simple steps for turning a packet of seeds into you own garden.

Seeds

How does a tiny acorn grow into an enormous oak tree? At one time, the tree in your backyard could have fit into your pocket! Look inside to learn the simple steps for turning a packet of seeds into your own garden.

Customer Reviews:

Great Science Project for Little Learners.......2007-09-03

If you are looking for a simple "experiment" for the budding scientist in your home, this is an excellent book. As you read this with your young child, he/ she will certainly be inspired to do what the kids in the book are doing; planting a bean seed and watching it grow.

As you read along with the story and follow-up with actually doing the experiment your child becomes part of the story, waiting and watching as his (or her) own seeds develop. Children learn the essential elements of growing seeds. Once you have successfully grown your first bean plants, there is a page at the rear of the book that guides you through additional "experiment" ideas to go even deeper.

This book, because it is on the Stage 1 level, is a bit less informative than the other Let's Read and Find Out Science books that we already have in our growing collection which are primarily Stage 2, but certainly worthwhile in that it guides parent and child through a very simple Science project.

Basic concepts covered in this book in addition to the seed growing are:

1. Counting (stage 1 is geered toward preschool to early kindergarten)
2. Patience (in that you must wait days to see things begin to happen)
3. The ability to follow instructions (the steps to perform the experiments)

Seeds for little kids.......2007-08-27

This book is a lil juvenille... not as information. But it covers the basics... I wished it was a bit more scientific.

My five year old enjoyed this book.......2003-01-10

We enjoy the "Let's - Read - & - Find - Out" series of books. This one is a good addition, explaining seeds on my five year old son's level of understanding . Something that many adult writers of childrens' science books sometimes aren't very good at getting across. It is in my child's library at school.

The books in this series are informative and interesting for their target audiences. The illustrations are well done and add to understanding the process being described. They make it easier to follow for kids.

Life Springing Forth........2002-03-28

This book should have been more appropriately titled HOW TO WATCH A SEED GROW. Instead of discussing the various stages of development and explaining what happens, the book is basically an extended science project explaining how students can watch a seed grow into a plant. The book talks about the different stages, but only discusses what the planted beans should look like in those stages, not really explaining what is happening or why. Nevertheless, the book does outline a good science project for younger children, but isn't much as a book to read to kids.

A Kids First Science Book.......2000-04-13

This is one very good science book. If you would like to do a seed project then this is a good guide to lots of young peoples questions about plants. It has colorful illustrations about what is happening with your project. It is written in detail, but not like a boring high school science textbook that goes on, and on, and on about one thing, giving every detail that there is. So what I'm trying to say is that this is a good book.

Average customer rating:

These two books could keep you busy for quite some time...
PermaCulture for Temp. climates!!
Excellent for anyone hoping to get a handle on sustainable agriculture
Permaculture Tour-de-force!

Edible Forest Gardens (2 volume set)
Dave Jacke , and Eric Toensmeier
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1890132608

Book Description

Edible Forest Gardens is a groundbreaking two-volume work that spells out and explores the key concepts of forest ecology and applies them to the needs of natural gardeners in temperate climates. Volume I lays out the vision of the forest garden and explains the basic ecological principles that make it work. In Volume II, Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier move on to practical considerations:concrete ways to design, establish, and maintain your own forest garden. Along the way they present case studies and examples, as well as tables, illustrations, and a uniquely valuable "plant matrix" that lists hundreds of the best edible and useful species.

Taken together, the two volumes of Edible Forest Gardens offer an advanced course in ecological gardening-one that will forever change the way you look at plants and your environment.
What is an edible forest garden?
An edible forest garden is a perennial polyculture of multipurpose plants. Most plants regrow every year without replanting: perennials. Many species grow together: a polyculture. Each plant contributes to the success of the whole by fulfilling many functions: multipurpose. In other words, a forest garden is an edible ecosystem, a consciously designed community of mutually beneficial plants and animals intended for human food production. Edible forest gardens provide more than just a variety of foods. The seven F's apply here: food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, and "farmaceuticals," as well as fun. A beautiful, lush environment can be a conscious focus of your garden design, or a side benefit you enjoy

Customer Reviews:

These two books could keep you busy for quite some time..........2007-08-23

It's really amazing how much information the authors have compiled on the subject matter they cover. Which, by the way, has to to with creating forest gardens, but with so much more as well, and in incredible depth.
These two books can provide one with material to study for a long time and be a reference source forever.

PermaCulture for Temp. climates!!.......2007-06-15

This book is a must for anyone who wants a future on this planet, especially in temperate climates

Excellent for anyone hoping to get a handle on sustainable agriculture.......2007-01-04

As a graduate of a Permaculture Design Course, organic farm worker and someone generally interested in virtually all aspect of sustainable ag, I found this book incredible. Now, I've only read the first one (about to start on volume number 2), but the quality of information in the first volume in outstanding. Volume 1 is concerned with the theory behind forest gardening, but with a keen eye towards using that information in the second volume (which includes detailed information on actually creating a forest garden). David Jacke does a great job of covering everything from invasive plants to forest succession to what a guild is and how to build one to underground microbes and why we should care about them. Full of informative figures, graphs and sidebars, this book does an excellent job of filling a niche that has been otherwise missed by many permaculture and sustainable ag books - what to do in the more temperate, rainy parts of the world. I'd recommend this book over Patrick Whitfield's great book if you live in the U.S. because it suggests a variety of plants native to the U.S. and has a larger number of useful species for people who live in the U.S. and are dealing with colder temperatures than those seen in Britain. Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone with the slightest interest in creating an edible landscape on a piece of property.

Permaculture Tour-de-force!.......2006-08-24

If you are a home gardener who has ever stopped to wonder whether permaculture was useful to you, you need to read these books. If you are an intermediate to advanced permaculturist, you will revel in these books. If you want to understand how a single individual with a garden can make the world a better place, you need to read these books.

Jacke and Toensmeier lay out an incredible vision in Volume I for the potential that permaculture holds for gardeners in the northern US. And they lead the reader through an eye-opening education in the scientific theory which supports that vision. In Volume II, they walk the reader through the process of creating their own unique vision for the reader's own permaculture design. Then they lay out, step by step, how to progress from vision to reality.

Along the way, they range from the theoretical to the highly practical, from how many miles of fungal strands are in a teaspoon of soil from the forest floor, to exactly how to plant a tree so that it not only survives but thrives. And they do it in a voice which is both learned and whimsical, enthusiastic and serious -- and downright fun.

I'm buying a second set of these books. I need to keep one set with me as I build my garden; I learn new things every time I turn the page, knowledge I need on a "how to" level. But I need a second set, so that I can lend it to my friends who would get tremendous insight from reading these books...my order for my second set is going in today!

Full disclosure: I am a very pleased client of Dave Jacke's design practice.

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